Stewie Griffin says:Who pulls/buys spotters anymore? After reading Kyle's blog several years ago I switched to using a 22G needle. Just gently remove the sharp tip (without actually closing up the needle) and presto! The grey 22G from Fisher are a bit longer than normal needles. I made up 4 of these bad boys in my 2nd year of grad school and they lasted the entire time. Now if you need to spot a reaction and the needle won't reach the solution, then ok fine I'd pull a quick spotter.

@Chemjobber: or you need to find a glass tubing made from low-melting glass. Disposable Pasteur pipets work fine even with a propane-can torch. (but I find it easier to buy TLC capillaries by a pound, from Chemglass. For a really fine work I use Drummond microcaps, 4uL size. )